Friendship is Supposed to Last
by Sorida
Summary: Second in the Lasting Impressions Trilogy. It's finally DONE! Please tell me if I should boost the rating. Beware of vulgar language and dark themes. Zim and Dib struggle with their new friendship as the S.E.N. and the Control Brains become problems
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Sequel to HNLL. It's been a couple months since the incident but Dib can't shake this weird feeling he has. He starts to doubt his motives for his newly formed friendship with Zim after he gets more and more calls from the Swollen Eyeball Network. What will he choose vindication or Zim? It's a triple shot.

A/N: Overly used plotline: yes. But I freaking love it! There's more Gaz in this one since it looks like it will turn into a ZAGR or a very strong ZAGF but I'm still not sure. Minimoose is also mentioned quite a bit in this and he may end up having a larger role later on. I guess I've decided to go on with the trilogy idea…this may be bad.

Disclaimer: *clears throat* Yes, yes, yes, I do not own Invader Zim. Freaking Viacom does. If I owned Invader Zim, I would make the new unfinished episodes instead of having an angry mob of fans 'cause that would be too much on my plate. Also, I don't blame Vasquez in any way. Besides, with a cool name like Jhonen Vasquez, I'd forgive him for anything. Even if he did snap my neck after I finish this disclaimer! *neck is snapped* Damn! I'm still alive!

Chapter 1

"So Zim, are you in Ms. Bitters' class again?"

"Who isn't Dib-monkey?"

"Me. sucks for you two."

"But you're younger than us."

"Yeah Dib-sister!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's Gaz?" Dib, Zim, and Gaz continued as they walked down the sidewalk towards Skool. Unfortunately, all of their teachers would be following them to the next grade. The good thing, Zim and Dib had become friends. After the "incident", Zim had come to terms with his situation and fully accepted Dib's friendship. For the first time in his life, Zim felt as though he belonged somewhere. He had also been able to befriend Gaz (after many months) and they all pretty much got along. For once in his life, someone actually wanted him around. Neither Dib nor Gaz tried to trick him (at least not as badly as the Tallest had) or made any hostile actions towards him, GIR, or Minimoose.

Dib was happy to have another person to sit with at lunch besides Gaz. He could finally talk to someone about outer space and have them understand it all. Zim had often pointed out distant planets foreign to the Milkyway Galaxy to Dib. He had also opened up and shared information about the Irkens and other aliens. Also, he could finally do something over the week-end that didn't involve sitting alone at his computer the whole time. Dib was truly happy. But, there was something else too. The Swollen Eyeball Network wouldn't stop calling him lately. They continued to e-mail him reports about mysterious deaths that could only have been caused by advanced technology not found on Earth. Dib usually shook them off as nothing, but he still had his doubts. The strangest thing was, more and more members of the Swollen Eyeball were beginning to believe in the story of Zim. Whenever Dib had asked why they believed, he always got the same response: We'll tell you later. Uneasiness settled in as Dib took in his position. Befriending Zim felt right but now, he didn't know what he wanted, vindication or a friend? He couldn't even remember why he was still part of the SEN.

Gaz was (somewhat) happy that Dib had a real friend so he could stop bugging her about things she didn't care about. However, she and Zim had also become good friends. They both hated most of humanity, were good at video games ("They're just like the smeet training programs back on Irk." Zim remarked), and both usually kept to themselves. She felt that some things, only she and Zim could talk about. Gaz had told him about her mother and Zim had shared his own stories of Irk that he wasn't completely comfortable with Dib knowing. Of course, Dib was curious but Gaz made sure that Zim's secrets stayed hidden from him. There were some things that people should never know.

Now the trio was walking through the Skool to their classrooms. It was the first day and nobody was looking forward to it. Gaz left them at Mr. Elliot's room and Dib and Zim continued down the hall to Ms. Bitters' room. Once inside, they sat in their respective seats across the classroom. Zita was already in her seat when Zim sat down in front of her in his usual seat. *Why do we never switch seats in the first place?* Zim thought as Zita piped up from behind.

"So, you're out of crutches now," she said, "I never found out how you broke both your arm and leg."

"It's uh...complicated. You, a small insignificant worm-baby, wouldn't understand." Zim replied. After his suicide attempt, he had missed the rest of the Skool year. It wasn't a big deal though, there were only about five days left anyway. But Zita had seen him around and every time she saw him, she would ask what happened. He usually got away with most people by saying he was in an accident but Zita always wanted the details. After that, he finally avoided going out alone as much as possible. Since Skool was in, Zita would be asking him every day until she got a straight answer out of him.

"I want to know details though!" she exclaimed, drawing the whole class's attention towards the two of them.

"I told you before filthy Earth female! I was in an accident!"

"I need to know more though! Just tell me! Pleeeeaaaassse?" Zita asked with that I'm-an-innocent-little-girl-so-you-can-tell-me-anything-but-we-all-know-that's-bullshit look.

"NO! What happened to Zim stays with Zim! You have no right to know anything Zim does not want you to know!"

"C'mon Zita, lay off." Dib interjected, "It's his business and his business only. He doesn't need you poking your nose into everything that happens."

"What happened to you crazy?" Zita asked with the I'm-a-jerk-who's-also-a-spoiled-brat voice, "You hate him!"

"We're over that smeet," Zim replied, "the games became too idiotic for the almighty ZIM!"

"Well, if your friends now, then Dib must know what happened. Tell me Dib! You can trust me!"

"No. It's private." Dib replied curtly with a "how in Hell do you expect me to trust you?" look on his face. He hated the Skool social structure.

"You can come out of the closet you know."

"What? No! We're not gay! Not like I have a problem with it…but NO!"

"You are unless I hear differently!"

"But we're not! I swear!"

"You're crazy and a son of a bitch!"

"You're just a bitch!" (A/N: Please note that they are all slightly older. Not by much, but just enough to make a difference in their "conversational" language. Did that make any sense at all?)

"Look, I'm dating Torque so I can have him beat you and your boyfriend up!"

"Please, Torque's too stupid to do any substantial damage."

"Then I'll have him and his friends beat you both up!"

Dib hesitated. What now?

"Please stupid human, Gaz can take them on. She will destroy them in a fight!" Zim said.

"Oh, so now you're with the Goth? Pfft. You are desperate. You're such a defective thing." Zim froze. Memories flashed before his eyes as painful memories resurfaced. After the "incident," whenever someone mentioned key words, his PAK automatically replayed memory upon memory painfully. A massive migraine was taking over his mind as memories flashed across his PAK. The Tallests' transmission, GIR's attempts to make him happy again, the swirling water under the bridge, the pain of being submerged and shattered bones, GIR's rescue despite damage to himself both from water and a machine untested on robots, and finally Dib learning the truth. Zim clutched his head in pain and laid it down on the desk.

"Don't. Ever. Say. That. Again." he managed to grunt through the pain. Zita smiled with the fact of a newfound weakness.

"Defective! Defective! Defective!" she shouted to him. Zim's PAK whirred even more, resurfacing more memories of the suicide attempt. Looking down at the water, taking off the PAK, GIR's own emotional pain, GIR nearly broken after using the Dream Converter, GIR almost destroyed because of his own problems, endless hours of self-loathing and the cutting, the one thing he never told Dib.

"Shut up you stupid worm-baby!"

"Sorry Zim. Oh wait, I'm not because you're a stupid midget and a fucking DEFECTIVE! How do you get any respect being the shortest in the grade? I mean really, have you ever heard of puberty?"

That did it. Zim's memories rapidly flashed through his mind faster than ever before. He couldn't even make most of them out. The PAK was beginning to smoke as he began to lose consciousness. Zim cried out in pain as green Irken blood trickled down from the lower PAK hole.

"Are you trying to kill me again?" Zim shouted at Zita. He collapsed onto the ground as Dib ran toward him. Then everything went black.

"Whoa. What just happened?" Zita asked while looking down at Zim. She had an "I'm innocent/I didn't do it!" expression. After her insults, he just fainted. Weakling. No wonder she was dating Torque.

"I don't really know," Dib lied to her, "but I know that it was your fault!"

"I didn't do anything. Zim's just a defective weirdo. It's not my fault he turned out the way he did." she said with a pout.

*I need to get him to his base,* Dib thought, *but how?* Just then, Ms. Bitters finally entered the classroom.

"Hello children, it's absolutely dreadful to see you all alive and well. Now let's begin our lesson of our doomed race. We will all be doomed one day and there will be NOTHING left on Earth. We will doom our own existence from recklessness and sugar. Doom, doom, doom, Dib sit down!" she shouted.

"Um, do you think I could bring Zim home? He's kind of…unconscious." Dib said uneasily.

"How long?" He looked down at Zim.

"Pretty long."

"Fine. Less students that I have to teach and less ungrateful children I have to see every day. Melvin, bring them their homework after Skool. Now leave." she answered curtly and pointed towards the door. Dib hoisted Zim's body up as best he could and slowly left the classroom (after giving Zita a death glare). From there, he was able to get Gaz out of class so she could help him haul Zim back to the base.

"So Dib, what happened?" Gaz asked sounding the slightest bit concerned. Dib shrugged it off as nothing.

"Zita started insulting him and he passed out."

"Doesn't look that simple." she replied while pointing to Zim's back. More blood was flowing from the lower PAK hole and some was starting to leak out of the upper one too. The PAK itself was still working at a frenzied pace to repair itself after the little ordeal.

"We should get him back fast since I don't know how much damage was done to his PAK."

"Then what are you waiting for Dib? Hurry it up already."

Darkness surrounded him. Strange groans came from all directions. Where was he?

"Zim." He looked around frantically.

"Eh? Who is it? Show yourself before the almighty Zim you coward!" Dib stepped into his field of vision. There was something different about him; he looked, darker, frightening more than anything else. "Dib!" Zim yelled, "I-You don't know how happy I am to see you right now! So, where are we?"

"Your memories, your fears." the fake-Dib replied.

"Oh so you're one of those figmenty-thingies?"

"Precisely."

"Then why aren't you glowing? And slightly transparent? And talking for that matter?"

"You've been playing way too many Earth video games Zim. That was only a representation of what a subconscious might look like."

"Blame Gaz for letting me play it. She had me play it since it was one of her favorites and the main character kind of sounded like me when I wasn't yelling and he didn't like water."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"So, what am I here for?" Zim asked, finally getting back to the subject.

"You passed out in Skool, remember?"

"Curse that horrible child! I will destroy her! I am ZIM!"

"Please, you couldn't kill anyone on Earth. You know it, and I know it." Zim sighed.

"I know. I know." Realization hit as Zim remembered his last conscious memory. "Wait, what was the last thing I said before passing out?"

"I believe it was 'Are you trying to kill me again' or something like that."

"Eh?" Zim gasped. "If she finds out what I meant the whole Skool will know! Dib, you have to help me!" Dib just smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile, more like one of those cruel, sadistic smiles.

"Oh Zim, as you say, have you the brainworms? Look around and tell me where you are." Zim finally took in his position. He was strapped to a steel table, bound by metal straps locked to the table. To his right were vivisection tools of all shapes and sizes. Zim gagged at the sight to the left. There was GIR in pieces as well as Minimoose. His eyes watered for his most loyal friends were now mangled bits of metal, completely obliterated. If a random person had looked at the table, they wouldn't have even thought that the pieces had once been a robotic floating moose and a hyperactive taco-loving robot.

"Why Dib? Why?" Zim choked out. Dib's smile widened as he picked up the sharpest scalpel from the tray to the right.

"Because Zim," he replied, "you made it too easy." With that, Dib cut through Zim's skin to his squeedilyspooch. Zim cried out in pain and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Almighty Tallests Red and Purple were watching, laughing the whole time. But in the corner, he saw Gaz. Her eyes were open and showed concern, the only one who cared.

"Take GIR and Minimoose." Zim whispered, closing his eyes once more. *Like there's anything to take care of.* he thought bitterly. Suddenly, he felt something shaking him.

"Zim. Zim come on! Wake up spaceboy!" the voice said.

"D-Dib?" Zim whispered almost hesitantly.

"Zim! Zim wake up!"

"MASTER! Why yous sleepy? Why? Play with piggy Master!"

"GIR?" Zim opened his eyes once more to see Dib, Gaz, GIR, and Minimoose around him.

"Master! I misseded yoooouuuuu so much!" Gir shrieked while giving Zim his death hug of doom.

"Gah! GIR! Can't breathe! Ah! My organs!"

"Oops. Sorry Mastah! I'm gonna go make waffles! TACO WAFFLES!" GIR ran off to the kitchen.

"Nya!" Minimoose squeaked to Zim then proceeded to follow GIR into the kitchen.

"Good thing I made Minimoose. GIR means well, but he's burned down the kitchen one too many times." Zim remarked.

"Zim, what happened?" Dib asked, concern clearly written across his face. Zim relaxed at the thought. If Dib was concerned for his well-being then he wouldn't turn him in to that weird paranormal network thing. What was it again, some sort of puffy meatball?

"Um...I had an extremely graphic dream about my vivisection. Nothing much though."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said Dib-monkey."

"Ok fine! You are so infuriating!"

"How so Dib? You're just being vague!"

"I'm trying to help you! Keeping things like this bottled up is no good! Do you want to become depressed again?"

"Eh? That's not what I meant! Nightmares will NOT make me depressed for no reason! I'm over that anyway!"

"Really, because in class it seemed different! Which reminds, Torque's probably going to beat us up."

"Hm. When?"

"No clue."

"That's helpful (obvious sarcasm). Hey, where were we again?"

"Um, what happened in class?"

"Oh yeah. Blame the filthy female Zita! She provoked me!"

"Well, how did she provoke you?"

"Are your hearing units impaired? She called me..."

"Wha-oh. Right. Zim, I'm sorry."

"Please Dib I don't need your stupid compassion. I feel like you still did nothing."

"Zim, I freaking brought you home! I stood up for you after you fainted."

"That's not exactly what I meant." Zim mumbled, but Dib still thought it was about class.

"You've said so yourself, you can take care of yourself."

"Dib, what was the last thing I said before passing out?"

"Uh...I don't really remember..."

"'Are you trying to kill me again?' That's what I said Dib! Zita's smart enough to figure it out! She'll tell the whole Skool!"

"Zim, I'm-"

"Don't say it. Just go."

"But-"

"Please Dib, just leave me alone." Hesitantly, Dib walked toward the door.

"Zim, if you need me, I'm here." he said and walked out the door to his house. Gaz still sat next to Zim on the couch. Zim looked at her and sighed.

"Can I tell you?" he said quietly.

"What happened?" she asked.

"The autopsy where Dib…you know."

"Why? Dib wouldn't stoop so low. I've known him my whole life and so far, I've learned two things. One: he's freaking annoying when he talks about that paranormal stuff. Two: you can trust him pretty well. He won't spill a secret easily and he's a loyal friend for the most part. All the shit I've told you about my life, only you and Dib know. Which reminds me, why don't you tell him half the stuff you tell me?" Zim sighed.

"It's complicated. After all, I'm still getting used to my arch enemy being my best friend as well as his 'scary sister'." Zim joked. That earned him a punch in the arm.

"Don't push your luck spaceboy."

"Hey, that's the Dib's nickname for me." She shrugged.

"What? Not good enough for you?"

"Silly Earth-female, no puny Earth-being is good enough for the almighty ZIM!" He laughed. "Did I seriously sound like that?"

"Yep. Now stop talking, if you make me lose this level, I'll destroy you." She laughed too. "I sounded like that too?"

"Still do." They both laughed together. "Wow, I actually don't miss those days of cat and mouse."

"Not surprising. So, why won't you tell Dib about your nightmare?"

"I don't want to unsettle him. I trust him and he trusts me. I don't want him to have any reason for doubt. Sure, being discovered still scares the crap out of me but I don't want him to think that he's the one I'm afraid of. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I understand. What do you think being discovered would be like?"

"Terrible. Humans storming my base, ripping GIR and Minimoose away from me, putting me in one of those horrible inferior stasis tubes, autopsies, and torture."

"Torture?"

"From being on Earth, I have learned that human scientists search for knowledge. Now, imagine that you are your father and you have just discovered a new form of intelligent life."

"Intelligent isn't exactly how I'd put it."

"Oh shut up! Anyway, you want information about this strange race. You will do anything to get what you want but this creature is stubborn and won't tell. So what is your only option?"

"Force them to."

"Exactly, that force you speak of is torture. If they discover me, it's only a matter of time until they discover my weaknesses. But truthfully, that's really not what I'm most afraid of."

"Really? What is then?"

"GIR and Minimoose. Both are, compared to Earth technology, advanced robots. If human-scientists get them, then they will be tested on and dismantled. I don't want that to happen to them. I'd rather be autopsied a million times over than have GIR even scratched by the inferior screwdriver-thing."

"Wow. It seems like you really care for them."

"I owe my life to them more times than I can count." he said looking at the floor, remembering the last near-death experience that hadn't happened too long ago. "Plus," he added, "They were my first and only friends for a while. GIR, I put him through so much. He should never have had to experience that, nobody should. Not just the emotional stress I put on him, but the physical too. You remember, he was almost destroyed by the device that saved my life. Well, almost saved my life."

Gaz sighed, then after a brief moment of silence said, "What happened to the old Zim?"

"He committed suicide."

"I like the new Zim better."

"You know, I think I do too. No more stress from the Tallest, no more working day and night, I'm not a slave to anything anymore. I can do what I actually want to do instead of what I was programmed to do. I can listen to my emotions." Gaz and Zim slowly leaned towards each other, their faces only inches away from each other. They closed their eyes and prepared for...

"Waffle tacos for everybody!" GIR shrieked as he ran around the living room while tossing his "waffle tacos" to Gaz, Zim, and Minimoose (who had entered the room moments before GIR). Gaz and Zim looked down at the food and looked into each other's eyes. After a moment of silence, they burst out into laughter. Dib, on the other hand, was having trouble with the S.E.N. while insanity broke loose in Zim's base.

Once Dib reached his house, he automatically went to his room. He instinctively looked over to his computer. The screen read 12 new e-mails. "Let's get this over with." he sighed. He was furious with Zim at the moment. He did help Zim, so why did Zim feel that way? Dib sat at the desk and read through the first e-mail. All twelve he figured were from the Swollen Eyeball. They were. One in particular was interesting; it was from Agent Dark Booty. It read:

Agent Mothman,

After months of work, I was finally able to help you prove the existence of the alien "Zim" to the other members. The council has allowed you to use any means necessary and any tools you like to apprehend the alien menace. You are privileged to lead the assault, take any technology you like, and run the autopsy. I await your orders young one. You have done well Mothman, but do what you feel is right. I got your last e-mail about Zim and it was...interesting to say the least. It's up to you.

Yours truly,

Agent Dark Booty

"I-I-I can expose Zim. I can have my vindication. No, no I can't. We're friends now. But, why won't he talk to me? He talks to Gaz a lot. But no, I can't betray him like that..." Dib said aloud.

*Yes you can.* a voice said.

"What? Who are you?" he asked shakily.

*I am you. Now do what you were meant to do. Get your vindication.*

"But, that's wrong. I trust Zim and he trusts me. We're friends."

*So, what if he is double-crossing you?*

"What? He wouldn't do that!"

*This may be one huge plan to destroy you and the world.*

"No, it couldn't. Zim wouldn't stoop that low."

*How do you know? Why do you think he only talks to your sister? He's getting to you Dib! Stop him now!*

"Ok, you little fu-"

*Oh, that's not very nice Dib.*

"Well, what should I call you? You are such an annoyance!"

*If you must, Mr. Eff.*

"Fine Mr. Eff."

*Like I said, he's using your sister. Do you want Gaz to be hurt?*

"Well, no bu-"

*Then the only way is to expose Zim!*

"No it's not! He's different now!"

*How different? He's the same evil alien thing you met that day in school! Now save the world Dib! This is not about your vindication anymore! It's about the Earth, your home, your family! Do you want those to be destroyed?*

"No, I don't."

*Good, then you know what to do.*

"Yes. I do." Dib said darkly. He sat back at his desk and typed a reply to Agent Dark Booty.

Agent Dark Booty,

I have decided to apprehend the alien menace for I believe he is deceiving me. I will give you specific orders later once I figure out a fool-proof ("More like GIR-proof." Dib said to himself,) plan.

Agent Mothman

*Very good,* said Mr. Eff, *you're on your way Dibby, you're on your way.*

A/N: Yeah, you saw it coming from It Can All End in a Minute. I like the theory of Dib becomes Nny. I don't know why, I just do. Anyway, I'll post the next chapter once it's done and once I'm halfway done with Chapter 3. None of my stories will ever be abandoned since I have some little thing about not finishing stuff. If I don't finish something, it will annoy the heck out of me until I actually finish the damn thing. So no matter how bad a story is, expect an ending. It may not happen fast or be what you expected, but there will be an ending. But after a year and nothing's been updated, feel free to give up hope. Reviews are always welcome, but not required. I just want feedback so I'm not writing something in the dark. They just tell me how I'm doing as a writer, what to improve, and what to never ever EVER do in a story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: And behold! Chapter #2 is here! Aren't you happy? I give you fair warning, this chapter contains violence, vulgar language, a JTHM reference, and a slight cliffhanger. You have been warned! Also, this is kind of on the long side but knowing FFN, it won't make much of a difference. This chapter is 9 pages long on Microsoft Word!

"Computer, run a diagnostic on my PAK's memory storage circuitry." Zim ordered. Gaz had left already after GIR passed out his odd "taco waffle" creation. Zim ignored his but Gaz said they weren't half bad.

"Strange but oddly enough, satisfying." she had said. Zim smiled at that short little memory, one of the very few that could.

"Master." the Computer said.

"Yes?" Zim said. Something was obviously wrong. The Computer never regarded him with formalities unless there was something important.

"There's some sort of anomaly in the memory of your PAK, possibly brought on by water that seeped into it. Oh, and there's something else too."

"What?"

"The artery near where the PAK attaches to your spine burst when you fainted. You're fine now but you might want something done about that."

"Um...okay, so do something."

"Like what?"

"You don't know?"

"Uh, no." Zim groaned.

"Then brainstorm possible solutions!"

"There aren't any."

"Eh?"

"You're going to have to live with it in some way or another."

"But how?" Zim asked exasperated, "I can't collapse in Skool again!"

"I'm sorry. I'll try to think of something." Zim sighed. He sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"What am I going to do now?" Zim asked himself. GIR walked into the room from the kitchen and sat down next to his Master. Zim looked at him and smiled. "Did you want to watch something?"

"ANGRY MONKEY SHOW!" GIR replied loudly.

"Fine, that horrible monkey..." GIR grabbed the remote and turned it to the 24/7 Monkey Channel. Zim sighed and smiled at his companion. GIR was so innocent and small. Why did he, Zim, put GIR through that stress? How could he even think of something like that when he knew he could rely on both GIR and Minimoose? "Hey GIR?"

"Yeeessss?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" He gasped. "Are the tacos gone FOREVER?" Zim chuckled.

"No GIR," he said calmly, "for trying to leave you here alone, you and Minimoose."

"Awwww, don't be sad Master. I forgiveded yooooouuu." GIR said while hugging Zim. Then Zim did something he never thought he would, he hugged back.

"Are you sure you want to do this Agent Mothman?" Dark Booty asked Dib.

"Erm...yes. After much debating, I believe that Zim is tricking me and the world. This isn't about me anymore, it's about Earth."

"Very well young one, whatever you think is right. Now, when do you want to strike?"

"Soon, not now but very soon. I need to find a fool proof weakness in his own personal defense first."

"Good planning. Now, once we get him what technology do you want to keep?"

"Well since I already have a spaceship, you can have his. I do, however, want his two robots."

"I'll tell the council. Contact me again when you have your plans settled. Agent Dark Booty signing off." The screen blacked out, leaving Dib thinking about his plan. With Zim's newfound weakness, he could easily capture him. But part of Dib still didn't want to betray his friend.

*Let go of those silly thoughts.* Mr. Eff told him, *He's always been and is still the enemy. Vindication is the key to your happiness. It is your destiny.*

"I'm still unsettled by this. I mean, we're friends now. There's no reason I should." Dib responded while running a hand through his hair.

*That doesn't change the fact that he's an alien. Or took away most of your childhood. You followed a lie religiously for quite a while. There's no way to regain that time you wasted on that defect. He did you an injustice.*

"Well, I guess you're right. I mean, you are me essentially, right?"

*Of course Dibby.*

"Can you do me a favor and not call me that?"

*You're on Nny.*

"You're impossible." Dib pulled a pencil and paper toward him and began to create his plan. If he had a definite way to make Zim faint, then he would have time for a quick capture so he could ship him off to the S.E.N. "But how..." Dib said to himself.

*You idiot, don't you remember what happened earlier today in Skool?* Dib's eyes widened in realization.

"Why didn't I think of that?" He smiled as a plan formed in his head.

"So Zim, are you feeling better?" Gaz asked. She, Dib, and Zim were all walking down the sidewalk together.

"Yeah, but there's some sort of problem. You see, I guess when I jumped into the water, some got in the holes on my back where the PAK goes. I still had water in there when GIR put it back on me." Zim replied.

*Now there's your chance Dibby, use it!* Mr. Eff said. Dib ignored the voice and kept walking. But after a few seconds, he found it harder and harder to ignore. He did finally manage to push the voice out of his mind, but not his idea.

"Hey, Zim?"

"Yes Dib?"

"Maybe, if you wanted, you could come over after Skool. I can try to see what's wrong with the PAK." Dib offered. Zim thought for a minute.

*Well,* Zim thought, *it might be nice to have a second opinion. And I trust Dib and his judgment. Plus, since his dad's a scientist he'll have proper equipment.* He looked at Gaz, *And after, I may feel comfortable enough to tell Dib about the cutting and GIR's malfunctions...*

"Ok Dib. I trust you on this." Zim replied. Dib was thoroughly shocked. He had only thrown the idea out there as an attempt. He smiled the rest of the way to Skool.

The lunch bell rang and the class flooded into the cafeteria. Zim and Dib walked behind the rest of the kids, not wanting to get trampled. Dib sat down next to Gaz at the table and waited for Zim to get his lunch. Gaz, at the moment, was engaged in the final level of Vampire Piggies.

Minutes later, Zim was sitting at the table animatedly talking to the siblings. While Zim continued his rant about the Irken government system, Dib noticed Torque eyeing them oddly from across the room. Dib shrugged it off just as Zim was getting to how he used to be friends with the Tallest back in training.

Recess came next and once again, Zim, Dib, and Gaz sat at one of the picnic tables. Gaz was actually talking to her brother for once (mainly about how fragile Zim's mental state was). Zim wasn't paying attention and wrote on his holo-notebook. After ten minutes passed, Dib noticed it was way too quiet. Something wasn't right. Dib turned away from Gaz for a minute and saw that Zim had disappeared.

"Uh, Gaz? Do you know where Zim went?" Dib asked. She shrugged.

"Not sure. Maybe his back started bleeding again?" As soon as the words left her mouth, they both heard a muffled scream. It sounded pained. Dib looked at Gaz.

"You heard it too?" Dib asked her. She nodded. The scream came again, this time clearer. It said something along the lines of...

Realization hit the two siblings and they raced towards the noise. Under their breath, they both mumbled what the voice said, "GIR."

They ran to the side of the Skool where the dumpster was. Gaz picked up something and handed it to Dib. It was Zim's journal. Then, they heard the struggle.

"...dare you say that to her!" A punch was heard.

"S-sh-she-she had it c-co-coming..." a weak voice said.

"You." Punch. Squeal. "Fucking." Whack. Squeal. Splash. "DEFECTIVE!" Whack. Thud. Squeal. Kick. Crack. Dib and Gaz didn't waste another moment. They ran to the other side of the dumpster and gasped.

Torque was there, standing over a limp body, with a rusted metal pipe in his meaty (A/N: Heh, Reverend Meat) hands. The body on the ground was none other than Zim. Gaz could feel rage burning up inside her. She stomped towards Torque; hands balled into fists, yanked the pipe out of his hand and punched him in the stomach. He yelped and fell over in pain.

"That's what you get for messing with him." Gaz said coldly and kicking Torque for good measure. She noticed that he already had a good number of bruises on him and smirked once she realized that Zim must have put up a suitable fight. She then went back to her brother who was kneeling beside Zim. Dib looked worried, really worried.

Zim's face had a jagged cut running down his left cheek as well as various other bruises and cuts. He was clutching his torso in pain, eyes tightly shut. His lower body seemed to be fine. Gaz didn't see why Dib was so worried, until she looked at Zim's back.

The back of Zim's uniform was drenched in dark green blood that was still flowing from the PAK holes. What really had the two worried was the PAK itself. "Torque must have hit it with the pipe." Dib said.

The PAK was sparking like crazy with a good sized dent in it. On the side, wires protruded from a hole. On top of that, it was smoking. "We need to get him home now." Gaz said as she lifted Zim as carefully as she could. Zim gasped as she held his midsection. His hands came away from his body revealing something protruding from underneath his uniform. Gaz's eyes opened as Dib's widened. Dib quickly went on the other side of Zim and the three started their way towards the base.

About halfway there, Zim began to cough. He couldn't stop the blood from spewing from his mouth. It landed on the sidewalk with a sickening "splash" and then went limp. He drifted back into the sea of unconsciousness. "We need to move faster." Dib stated. Gaz nodded and picked up the pace.

Zim was sitting in his base. He heard sounds coming from the kitchen. GIR was making biscuits again, another idea he had to help his Master feel better. Zim smiled as cinnamon wafted from the kitchen. He heard a knock on the door. Zim slid off the couch and answered it.

"Yes?" he said.

"Hey Zim, can I come in?" It was Dib. He was smiling...oddly.

"Sure." Zim replied, smiling back thinking nothing of it.

"So you wanted me to look at your PAK?" he asked.

"Yeah. You mind if we go down to the lab? I don't want GIR coming in accidently and...well, I don't want to think about it."

Once they were in the lab, Zim took off the PAK. The Lifeclock started. 9:59.

Dib brought it to the table and began to examine it. He opened it with various Irken tools and looked around each compartment. 7:57.

Minutes passed and Zim began to feel weak. He slumped on the floor, wondering when Dib would be done. 5:12.

His vision began to blur. Soon, it was hard to make Dib out. Zim went into a coughing fit and heard something splash onto the floor. He thought nothing of it. 3:52.

"Hey, Dib?" Zim asked weakly. He was trying to remain conscious and he was in a lot of pain.

"Yeah?" Dib turned around, PAK in hand.

"I need that back now...I...I...don't...time...1:07...please..." Dib smiled cruelly once more.

"Zim, I can't believe you actually thought I would give this back." Dib said coolly. Zim looked at him frantically. 1:00.

"I...trust...friend...please..." 0:56.

"You're an idiot Zim. I can use this however I want. This can benefit humanity. With this technology, people can live so much longer and I get my proof of aliens! Win win! Well, for me." 0:41.

"Dib...please..." Zim croaked. 0:38.

"No." Dib responded as he walked to the elevator. He disappeared from sight. 0:30

"I...I...am...die..." Zim stuttered, slowly shutting his eyes. He was growing numb. 0:19.

"Cold..." 0:10.

"Gaz..." 0:05.

"GIR..." 0:04

"Minimoose..." 0:03

"Computer..." 0:02

"Dib..." 0:01

"So cold..." 0:00

But the pain came back, full force.

"AAAHHH!" Zim screamed once more sitting up quickly. He regretted that soon afterwards. He gasped in pain and lay back down on the couch, breathing hard. Sweat beaded his head and he felt so much pain. He looked down at his chest to find it in a white bandage, Irken blood seeping through a small portion of it. He had a massive headache and a throbbing pain in his right eye. It was then he noticed that he was in his base. And he was out of disguise. *How did I get here?* he asked himself. As if on cue, Gaz and Dib ran out of the kitchen to him. *I owe them. Twice.* GIR came moments later and bound over to his Master. *And GIR more times than I can count.*

"What happened?" he asked, surprised by how hoarse his voice was.

"Torque." Gaz said, venom obviously showing in her voice. Zim then remembered everything.

"He...he grabbed. Just took me away." Zim said, quite shaken at the memory.

"You want to share?" Dib asked. Zim nodded and began.

Log entry #777

Time: 12:34 pm

I don't know how to feel anymore. Life is so confusing and these new emotions. I don't know what to do. I think I may be experiencing a human emotion called "love". Of course I "love" GIR and Minimoose, but they seem more like my "family". I think I may be in love with G-

"Ah-Mmf!" Zim cried as two arms came out of nowhere and began to drag him away from the table. While trying to free himself, he lost grip of his notebook. That was the least of his problems. The hands that grabbed him were starting to choke him. One was over his mouth and the other crushing his neck. Zim's vision blacked out occasionally due to the lack of oxygen. Next thing he knew, his head painfully slammed against a metal wall.

Zim looked up and saw none other than Torque Smackey glaring down at him. His hands were balled up into fists and his mouth had a slight pout to it.

"What do you want with Zim, sniveling Earth-child?" Zim demanded, gaining a bit of his bravado back.

"I heard that you insulted my girlfriend. So I'm going to, like, beat you up and crap." Torque answered dumbly.

"Zita? She deserved every second of humiliation."

"You better, like, take back what you said about Zita!"

"Uh, how about no? You see ignorant Earth child, she insulted me first. By my standards, I had a right to retaliate, and retaliate I did. Your girlfriend is nothing but a self-conceited bitch." Zim smirked. "You two really deserve each other. She's a bitch and you're a bastard, a perfect combination of human inferiority."

"Uh…I don't know half of what you just said but I'm gonna beat you up for it!" (A/N: Note how the ignorant meter is still at 10 for this guy. Wow, this guy really _is _stupid!)

"Bring it on stink-beast!" Zim shouted.

Torque charged towards Zim, but Zim gracefully side-stepped and allowed Torque to plow right into the dumpster behind him. He then proceeded to (in a literal sense) beat the snot out of Torque. He administered quick punches here and there and received minimal retaliation (A/N: Man, that's an awesome word!) from the other. Just as Zim was about to leave the bruised and battered boy behind, he heard it.

"Zita told me to tell you…that…that you are…a…defective." Torque said, standing up with assistance from the dumpster. Zim's artificial pupils widened as his PAK began its malfunction. He stopped in his tracks as the memories resurfaced once more. Torque smirked as Zim clutched his head in pain.

The Trial resurfaced, he had almost died at the hands of the Control Brains, the very beings that gave him life. They were going to take it back, and they would have if not for the malfunction in his PAK. He had been so stupid back then, so blind, so misled. He hated himself for that. He just seemed to be a mistake, an anomaly in a perfect system. A defective; and defectives didn't deserve to live. Defectives must be terminated. _He _must be terminated.

*Wait,* Zim thought, *these thoughts, they aren't mine! What the-my PAK! The Control Brains! They're doing this! They're trying to dispose of Zim! The connection with Irk was never severed! I'm still part of the Empire, still registered as a food service drone! That's why I wanted to kill myself! Well, part of the reason why I wanted to kill myself. My pride was also a factor. And the intense desire to please. And my irrational thinking, and…wait, where was I?* A shock was sent through his entire body. Zim collapsed in pain as he felt the artery burst once again. He could just feel the warm liquid running down his back and onto the asphalt below.

Torque walked carefully over to Zim, making sure that he wasn't getting up any time soon. Satisfied, he decided to finish his girlfriend's request. In rapid succession, he kicked Zim six times in the chest. Zim flinched as he heard (and felt) his ribs snap and break. The last time Torque kicked, Zim could not stifle his pained scream. Quickly bringing his hands to the afflicted area, he felt a small point through his uniform. *Oh shit.* he thought as green blood began to stain his hands.

"Shut up!" Torque shouted as he picked up a broken metal poll and hit Zim with it. The tip barely missed his wig and, instead, created a jagged cut down his cheek.

"GIR!" Zim tried to shout, but came out much quieter than he wanted it to.

"I said shut the Hell up!" Torque shouted again, dropping the pipe and picking Zim up by the neck. He pinned Zim to the side of the dumpster with one hand holding the alien up and the other ready with a fist. "Take it back Zim! How dare you say that to her!"

Through labored breaths, Zim simply answered, "S-sh-she-she had it c-co-coming..." Torque glared at Zim as he brought his fist back.

"You." He punched Zim in the face and let him drop to the ground. Zim made a small "Mmf!" as he hit the asphalt.

"Fucking." Torque picked up the pipe and whacked Zim on the side of the head with it. Zim's vision swam as he fought to stay conscious. He coughed and with a sickening splash, Irken blood landed in a small puddle next to him.

"DEFECTIVE!" Torque administered the final blow, hitting the PAK and creating a dent. Zim's body was riddled with electrical shocks and he writhed on the ground clutching his chest. Once they stopped, he heard faint footsteps and frantic voices. A second later, he was surrounded by the vast sea of black he was becoming accustomed to all too well.

"Right after that, I had the nightmare. Then, I just woke up here." Zim concluded. GIR was clutching Minimoose and attempting to "hide" behind the small robot. Dib stared at Zim, showing no emotion at all. Gaz clenched her fists and muttered something under her breath. Seeing as nobody was talking, Zim continued.

"I think I may know what is happening to me. The Control Brains on Irk, I think they're trying to kill me. I have a connection to Irk through my PAK and I believe the Control Brains may be trying to dispose of me using that connection. It's slow work, but it explains everything. The key words, the suicide attempt, everything. I've been going against all of the rules in Irken society by developing feelings and acceptance of others. I'm not the Zim you first met. I developed emotions and free will." His eyes widened in realization. "The Control Brains, they're afraid of my defiance. They're afraid of a revolution. They're afraid of change. They want me dead because I am a threat to their very existence. They want me gone because I am different.

"Don't you see? Yes, this is the answer! My emotions filter must be broken or malfunctioning! They don't have a strong hold on my own thoughts. They don't know what the Hell to do with me! That's why every Irken in the universe hates me! It's not them who's thinking, it's the Control Brains feeding them the very information they depend on! They have no free will or thought! I'm the only one who can, and has, changed! It all makes sense now!" Zim smiled. He could be free of the ones trying to control and end his life through one task.

"Dib, I need your help." he said. Dib, caught off-guard, jumped a bit before replying.

"What do you need?"

"Tomorrow, I want you to come down to the lab with me. There is an emotion filter in my PAK and by the looks of it, it should be broken. I want you to help me remove and destroy it. That is the very device that the Control Brains regulate us Irkens by. Without it, they can't do anything to me. I can finally be free."

*Do it Jo-Dib! This is your chance! Call the Swollen Eyeball Network tonight! You have the opening, now take it! Use this to your advantage and save the world as you were destined to do! Dispose of Zim yourself! You can disable the PAK's weapons and once the S.E.N. comes, Zim will be defenseless! It's all too perfect!* Mr. Eff chided.

*Ye-No! Shut up Eff! I don't want to! I made a mistake! Zim's my friend! No!* But as much as Dib fought with the voice, he couldn't overcome it. He had a plan now; he couldn't let the opportunity pass by.

Zim, seeing Dib's internal debate, said, "Please Dib, you're the only one who actually knows how this thing works. Well, seeing as it attached itself to your stomach and made you…me. But that's beside the point. Dib, I'm a broken machine. I just want someone to shut me down and…fix me."

*No! I can't! I won't! I-*

"Alright Zim," Dib answered, "I'll help you. When do you want me over tomorrow?"

"After Skool will be fine. By then, most of this," he said motioning towards his bandaged body, "should be healed enough to handle a few minutes without my PAK. Thank you Dib, you don't know how much this means to me."

"No problem Zim, I'm going to go home. I have some things I need to do at home. Gaz, are you coming with me?"

"No," she replied, "I'll stay for a little while." Dib left the green house, in shock of his reply and trying to regain control on his mind.

Meanwhile, millions of light years away, data streamed into a major computer network. Urgent codes flashed across A.I. all saying the same thing: It knows. The Control Brains received the message, and took immediate action. They had to remain the undeclared leaders of the Irkens. One defiant Irken could ruin their plans for universal conquest. For the sake of the mission, it had to be terminated. Making the decision, a coded message was sent towards the disruption. The Irken of PAK 047027957 would pay dearly.

Back in Zim's base, Zim and Gaz continued to talk about their various problems as GIR and Minimoose baked biscuits. Gaz's smile disappeared as Zim's body went rigid. His eyes widened as the code entered his PAK.

"Gaz," he said through clenched teeth, "I want you to go home before anything happens."

"What are you talking about Zim?" she asked, moving closer.

"No…no stop! You can't do this! STOP IT! NO! NO!" Zim shouted, eyes glazed over and darting around the room.

"Zim! Calm down! Everything's fine! ZIM!"

"No GIR! Don't hurt him! Don't touch him! GIR!"

"Zim! Snap out of it!" Gaz shouted, shaking Zim for good measure.

"GET AWAY!" With that, Zim lashed out at Gaz. He slashed at her with his claws making three gashes across her face. Gaz stumbled backwards as Zim's PAK finally countered the virus. Gaz brought a shaky hand up to her face and felt the cuts. She slowly backed out of the house and ran towards her own home, ignoring Zim's frantic apologies.

Gaz quickly opened the door, ran into the house, and slammed it shut in one fluid motion. Dib, hearing the noise from his room, could tell (with his "super brotherly instincts") that something was wrong. He stumbled down the stairs and saw Gaz, tears in her eyes and three cuts on her cheek.

"What happened?" he asked, already dreading the answer.

"Zim." she replied, walking away from Dib towards the bathroom. How could he? How could Zim attack her? Didn't he recognize their relationship?

*Of course he does,* she thought to herself, *it's his PAK. He needs to be fixed. He needs help, and he knows it. He better realize that once Dib's done, I will doom him for attacking me.*

Dib watched his sister walk away, anger bubbling up inside of him. Zim had just attacked Gaz, his own sister, and he was going to pay.

*So Dibby, got a plan?* Mr. Eff asked.

*Yeah, I do.*

*What are you going to do now?*

*Call the Swollen Eyeball Network and alert them of the situation.*

*That's my Nny.*

A/N: I'm going to stop it there. I hope the ending has become a bit more obvious for you all and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will be the last one in this story and will make way for the final story in the trilogy, Lasting Impressions. I will (hopefully) update this next week if nothing else happens. Also, there is a poll on my profile if anyone is interested. It's for the ending of Invader Dib and you, the reader, get to choose the finale of Zim! Anyway, reviews, constructive criticism, and flames are welcome but not required. Now I leave you with this:

(-^.^-) Yeah, I'm random!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: Last chapter is here! Prepare yourselves for the destruction of Dib and Zim, the confusion of Gaz, the numbing of GIR, and Minimoose just being…there. Enjoy the last chapter of Friendship is Supposed to Last. I'm sorry it took this long, school just got crazy and I lost control of my mind…kind of.

I was also in the pit orchestra for a play (I'm a clarinetist) last week, which was the week of the show. For all of those who have ever contributed to a play of any sort should know what THAT week is. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, we actors/actresses/musicians-in-the-pit-orchestra-who-get-little-to-no-praise like to call this Hell Week. Basically, rehearsals run for anywhere between 4 and 6 hours every day of the flipping week. I just had Hell Week and last Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were the days of the show. It was fun, but I had no time for homework (yes, I actually do homework) or writing. The latter of which making me quite sad. For the week, I've only been able to post the one-shot No Distractions.

So now my Hell weeks are over and I can update again! So once again, I am so very sorry for stealing your brains and trying to take over the world. Oh wait, that was Coach Oleander…never mind. I'm sorry for weeks without updates.

Well, enough with me! This is what you've been patiently waiting for:

"Wow, I'm slightly impressed. Zim actually went kind of deep." Gaz remarked, poking carefully at the three cuts on her face. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, cleaning them. The cuts weren't deep enough to scar, but they were deep enough to hurt like Hell. Of course, Gaz would never admit this to anyone.

"Damn alien. I am so going to pulverize him once he gets better." She smirked. "He should consider himself lucky right now." She quickly washed her face and grabbed some Bactine from the medicine cabinet to apply to her "injury". Satisfied, she went to her room and changed into her pajamas. As she lay down in her bed, she whispered, "Dib, you better not do anything stupid."

As Gaz slept, Dib studied his computer monitor. He had downloaded PAK schematics to his laptop in order to prepare for his visit with Zim the next day. Smirking, he looked over the device's weaponry system. If he could disable the PAK's weaponry before the ten minutes were up, Zim would be defenseless against the Swollen Eyeball agents. His only problem was his hesitation. A part of his conscience still wanted to be friends with Zim, to be free. By turning him in, he would lose everything he had gained. Grunting, he shook his head trying to rid it of the thoughts. Dib was convinced he was doing the right thing. The Earth had to be saved and this was the only way to do. Gaz had to be saved. He had to be saved. Shoving the thought deep within his mind, Dib continued to study the diagrams before him as though his life depended on it. Soon, the lone thought of regret vanished.

A small presence lingered in the back of his mind, storing energy and power for its own use. The more Dib gave into its demands, the stronger it could become. Once it had enough power, it would emerge once more to free its Master. The child still had too much mental strength, bidding the creature to wait for the opportune moment to strike. The mind needed to be worn down. The host could not realize that a foreign entity was ever-present in its subconscious. So for now, the creature waited to make its presence true. What it needed was a physical host and, hopefully, it would get one soon; all in due time.

In the green house across town, Zim was, to put it simply, freaking out. Not only did the Control Brains act faster than he had anticipated, but he hurt Gaz. _Gaz!_ The very thought of hurting her seemed unreal. The fact that he actually _did_ hurt her was impossible to comprehend. Nevertheless, Zim could not keep his mind off of the matter. He needed to apologize, to see her smile again. He needed his best friend back.

He got up from the couch, wincing slightly seeing as heal wasn't fully healed yet, and shakily walked towards the nearest elevator. Zim would need to prepare the lab for tomorrow. Dib would need the proper supplies set up before hand to avoid accidently killing him. Zim shuddered as he remembered the last time Dib had his PAK. One more second and he would have been dead. He sure did have luck on his side. At least, he thought he did.

Light years away, the Control Brains whirred to life once more. That little _defect_ was going to destroy the Irken way of life, the very threshold of their culture. He would ruin everything just as he had done in Operation Impending Doom 1. He must be terminated.

But, he was too far away to even send a virus powerful enough for the job. If they did send it as they did the last, parts of it would dissipate as it went through various time warps and wormholes. If they sent it through a long-distance transmission, they ran the risk of exposing their own plans. The Control Brains had always been the undeclared, unannounced leaders of the Irken Empire and they wanted to keep it that way. No way in Hell would they be revealed by some defect. Choosing logic over everything else, the Control Brains decided to rest. They would need their strength if they wanted to rid themselves of Zim once and for all. Their perfect society would not be ruined by one little glitch. Besides, the other virus would suffice for the time being. The lights in the room dimmed, the humming became softer as the Control Brains willed themselves into sleep mode once more.

Zim hurried to and fro around his lab preparing the necessary tools needed for the extraction of the emotion filter. He got GIR to watch the Scary Monkey Show so he wouldn't accidently break anything important (good thing it was a marathon). Minimoose was checking the Happiness Probe in Nick ("I'm so damn happy!"), monitoring any fluctuations in the data. The Computer busied itself with various tasks; monitoring the defenses, repairing and increasing the defenses, tracking long-distance transmissions from Zim's PAK (which successfully supported the idea of the Control Brains), making sure GIR was occupied, creating a program to remove the new virus in Zim's PAK, making sure Zim didn't blow anything up or himself for that matter, he had done it enough times anyway, and adding upgrades to the Voot Cruiser. All in all, Computer had quite a few things to do. Fortunately, it was good at multitasking and could easily keep up with everything. That was the one good thing about having the "old Zim" as a Master; he prepared you for anything and everything. Plus, it was fun to mess with him.

With supplies in hand, Zim walked over to the operating table he set up for tomorrow's events. On it, he carefully placed each tool in the correct order for usage. He would need all the help he could get, especially after the five minute mark where he began to lose the use of his limbs. Yep, that was always bad. Looking over the table, Zim was satisfied with his preparations and returned to the upper levels of the base.

Carefully stepping out of the trash can elevator, Zim slowly made his way towards the couch. Who knew something so simple as walking could be so exhausting? Then again, most people couldn't move around with broken ribs or a damaged PAK. The PAK was repairing itself and would be ready for the next day, but to will it to do so that fast required energy, Zim's energy. The fact that it was smoking when Gaz and Dib found him didn't boost his spirits at all. Hopefully, he would have enough energy to go through with tomorrow's plans. If not, then he'd still go for it. A few doubts and questions ran through his head but he quickly dismissed them and opted to relax on the couch with GIR. So there they sat for the rest of the night, Invader and SIR, perhaps their last night together.

Unfortunately, it was. As the sun began to rise, realization finally settled in. Zim knew this was a "suicide mission", but Dib would pull through, right? Dib wouldn't turn on him as so many others had, right?

"Of course he won't, he's my ally; my friend." Zim said quietly to reassure himself. Although, he couldn't quite shake the feeling in his squeedily spooch that told him he was wrong, dead wrong. He shook his head, trying to clear it of such thoughts without much success. Looking at the clock in an attempt to find something else he focused on, discovering it was 5:00 AM. With a few quick calculations, he deduced that Dib would arrive at his door in about ten hours, twenty-two minutes, ten hours and a half-hour if Ms. Bitters decided to give him another lecture on how big his head was. Zim sighed and looked to his left where GIR leaned against him. Smiling, he relaxed a bit more and let his body rejuvenate itself. He would need all his strength for the events to come.

Three hours and forty-five minutes later, Dib entered Ms. Bitters' room groggy yet determined. He didn't mean to, but he had spent the whole night studying PAK schematics and certain system shut downs. He was ready for the precious time after Skool where Zim would finally be exposed once and for all. The Swollen Eyeball would arrive at the base at around 4:00 PM, by the latest, to take Zim away to their laboratories. A small smirk made its way across his features. In his mind, the entity was smirking too, gaining power ever so slightly, but gaining it nonetheless. Dib would just have to last the six and a half hours of Ms. Bitters' doom rants. Assuring himself that his life would be different after 4:10 PM that afternoon, he could bear the day. Dib sat down as his horrible teacher began the lesson.

As soon as the bell rang, Dib booked it out of the classroom and nearly tripped over his own two feet trying to run to Zim's house. A voice, however, stopped him in his tracks.

"Dib." The voice said. Turning towards its source, he discovered Gaz walking to him. His expression hardened when he noticed the blood-stained bandage on her face. Zim would pay.

"Listen Dib," she said, "Just don't do anything stupid, you hear me? Zim didn't mean it, I could tell. His eyes reminded me of Mom when…you know. So leave the revenge to me once you fix him, got it?" She held up a fist to intimidate her brother. Feigning fright, Dib responded.

"Of course Gaz, I'll be home around 4:30, got it?" he said.

"Whatever." She replied with a smirk. If anyone could get the job done, it was Dib. Of course, she would never tell him this to his face, she might encourage him or something.

"Yeah, later Gaz." And he walked away. If Gaz had known of his plans, of the events yet to come, maybe things would have turned out like she had planned. She might have had a boyfriend. She could have been happy. But she let her brother go, not suspecting a thing until it was too late.

Gaz arrived home at 3:30 PM, being held up a bit at the crosswalk. Stupid crossing guard (A/N: Sorry about the insult towards crossing guards, you guys are awesome!). Automatically, she climbed the stairs and walked to her room. However, a faint glow caught her attention. It was coming from Dib's room.

*Stupid Dib forgot to turn off the computer again.* Gaz thought to herself. Didn't he know she needed that power for her GameSlave 2? Moaning, she entered the room, only to gasp seconds later. Notes were strewn across the desk with the computer relaying the same information on its screen. They all pointed to the same conclusion: Dib was going to disable Zim's PAK.

"Aw, you little shit!" Gaz screamed, running down the stairs, out the door, and sprinting as fast as she could in the direction of Zim's base. "Dib, you are so fucking dead!" It was 3:40 PM when she left.

Zim sat up quickly once the ring of the doorbell reached his antennae. He glanced at the clock: 3:40 PM. Dib. Getting up from the couch, Zim answered the door to a very fatigued Dib.

"Is something wrong Dib?" Zim asked, lowering one eye and cocking an antenna.

"No, I just spent all last night studying how the PAK works so I don't accidently kill you." He replied a bit too seriously. Zim shrugged it off as nothing and smiled instead. He was touched that Dib would take the time to consider his well-being.

"Thank you Dib. You know, at first I was skeptical of this "friendship" but now, I realize the true benefits of having friends. It's nice to talk to others, get a second opinion on things. It's…nice, liberating." Zim stared into the distance, reminiscing about different times when he and Dib still played that foolish game of cat and mouse. He regretted everything he had done throughout his life, wanting to apologize to every last Irken that he had harmed in one way or another. A clearing of the throat broke his thoughts. Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, Zim led Dib into the bowels of his base.

"Alright Dib," Zim started once they arrived at the operating station, "it is 3:42 PM. We have until 3:51 PM to remove the emotions chip so I can remove myself from the Irken Empire. Are you ready to begin."

"Yes." Dib replied darkly. Ignoring it, Zim gave him one last look. It was now or never for both of them. Sharing one last understanding, Zim removed the PAK and the life clock began. 9:59.

For minutes, they worked in silence, navigating around the PAK legs, various weapons, and life-support. At 6:34, Zim began to feel dizzy. At 5:00, they had reached the malfunctioning chip as Zim lost consciousness. If he had not had the crap beat out of him the day before, he would have lasted until the last second. But of course, life is a bitch.

Dib removed the chip hastily and crushed it. With that task out of the way, he began his own to disable all weapons. Poking and prodding with various tools, Dib finally accomplished his task. He was ready for the S.E.N. and his vindication. His mind smiled in delight. At last, the one thing standing in its way of complete control would be gone. The PAK was reattached and Zim regained consciousness. Dib had done it with three minutes to spare.

"Damnit Dib!" Gaz shouted, still two blocks away from Zim's base. At the next crosswalk, she spotted a small green and black dog. "GIR!" she shouted, trying to get the android's attention. GIR looked behind him and gave a wide smile. He liked the purple-headed girl, she made Master happy.

"GIR! What time is it?" Gaz asked frantically, out of breath from the sprint. GIR face scrunched in concentration.

"15:50 ma'am!" he relayed. His features relaxed once more, large eyes looking up at Gaz's squinted ones. "Why you want to know Gazzy?"

"Listen GIR, your Master is in trouble and we have to get to the base fast. Can you fly me there?"

"YES MA'AM!" GIR shouted with a small salute. Before Gaz could say anything else, GIR grabbed her, put her on his back, and took off in a puff of smoke. 3:51 PM, they arrived one minute too late. Cars with an eyeball insignia surrounded the green house while four men dragged a half-struggling figure out of the house. It had magenta eyes. It had two black antennae. It wore a torn magenta shirt. It had a sparking PAK on its back.

It was Zim.

In those precious minutes, Zim and Dib had arrived at the upper levels of the base. A loud banging was heard at the door and soon, it collapsed. The S.E.N. had arrived. Subconsciously knowing what had happened but not willing to except it, Zim tried to activate his spider legs. Instead, he received a painful shock with the words "Incompatible Command" flashing across his ocular implants. The agents attacked the defenseless alien, pinning him to the ground. Zim punched and kicked his way out of the mass of humans, but they just kept coming at him. They were shouting things to one another, trying to get him without the use of a weapon. Dib stood in the corner, a witness of the fight.

Finally getting fed up, one agent took out his standard-issue laser gun and fired. His aim was terrible and instead of heading for Zim, it shot directly at Dib. Frozen with fear, Dib remained rooted to the spot. But then he felt it.

A hard push to his side left him sprawled in the middle of the floor, green blood soaking the bottom of his coat. Sitting up quickly, he saw Zim, hands clutching his side and tears of both physical and emotional pain running down his face. He opened them and pleaded to Dib. Dib didn't move from his spot, only watching the puddle of blood on the floor growing larger and larger. Zim's PAK began sparking, the system being overloaded by too many commands. Zim's eyes dulled slightly as agents surrounded him and picked him up. Four men held him in order to secure him. Zim tried desperately to break free, but he was far too weak, mentally and physically. By the time they threw him into the truck, he had given up, accepted his fate. This was his worst nightmare.

As the trucks drove away, Gaz ran to Dib who was standing in the doorway. Punching him hard in the jaw and kicking him mercilessly in the stomach, she shouted hurtful, angry words at him. Tears streamed down her face as GIR tried his best to comfort her, not knowing the gravity of the situation. Dib curled up into a ball and remained like that even after Gaz, GIR and Minimoose had left.

*You did it Dib. You saved the Earth.* Mr. Eff said coolly.

"No," Dib whispered aloud, "I betrayed Zim. I saw that look in his eyes when he saved me. He never intended to take over Earth after the "accident". I just shattered his beyond repair. It is no longer salvageable. This time, I can't fix it."

*Don't worry about that, you are famous now. You proved the existence of aliens to the Earth, to your classmates, to you father.* Dib winced.

"And here I thought Zim was the only slave. No, you manipulated me into this. It's your fault."

*You're just trying to pin the blame, you never tried to fight back. You wanted this. You brought this upon yourself.* The words stung, but Dib knew they were true. He _knew_.

"I…I…didn't want this to happen…"

*But you let it happen.*

"No…"

*Enough angst out of you. You should celebrate now. You have won. You won.*

"I won…" Dib whispered. How hollow those words sounded now. He had won his vindication, but had lost his true friend.

"I won…"

Millions of light-years away, the Control Brains were working at a frantic pace. Losing all communication with the defective made them paranoid. He had successfully removed the emotions chip and lost all connections with Irk. He could strike them at any time without notice. He could lead a revolution. He could destroy them with the knowledge he possessed. They had to silence him somehow. They knew he was not dead, for if he did die, his base would have automatically self-destructed as well as the SIR. That's when it hit them. The SIR still had a connection. They could use the SIR. Quickly, they set to work on the new plan to bring Zim to his end.

There was also one more plan they could use. The Control Brains decided to introduce one more pawn to their twisted, life-size game of chess. The Irken of PAK 21758277 would love this mission. Eliminate Zim for the Control Brains in order to become an Invader. It was perfect.

So with two signals, the Control Brains brought their last two pieces into action. One virus for the SIR and one special message for the Irken named Tak.

A/N: THIS STORY IS DONE! IT'S FREAKING DONE! FINALLY! I hope you all enjoyed it and look out for the last story in the trilogy, Lasting Impressions. It will not be a happy story and will not have a happy ending. But then again, Zim isn't exactly a happy show. Just look at GIR! He's, by far, one of the saddest characters I've ever seen on a kids' show. If you look more into his personality (especially in the episode GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff); GIR knows he's different and has that subconscious desire to die. Also, keep in mind that GIR is a trained killer. This will be explored in Lasting Impressions. But, of course, I am busying myself with another project so you will all have to wait until I am done with it. Most of you should know what it is…if not, you'll find out on the 25th. Also, sorry if the times are off. I'm tired and I don't feel like doing math, so grrr!

So I apologize once again for the lateness of the finale. Please tell me what you think of this story! I worked so hard on the ending and I think I botched it! I think it was a bit too rushed…

Well, bye until the next story!


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